A Day at School

This is the final of three posts using words that have new meanings with the advent of technology:

A Day at School

Every day I walk down the path that leads me to the train platform, where I catch my ride to school. There is a history of violence in my neighborhood school, thus the long ride everyday to school. I guess the long rides to school and then home again do give me time to decompress. 

On the way to school I like to read — a real book. I love my special bookmark, which my grandma gave me and has a special poem on it. I also have an attachment to turning real pages. Right now I am reading a book about the Trojan Horse.

One problem about having such a long ride to school, though, is how early I need to get up! I like to open the bedroom window really early when I am just waking up to hear the tweets of the birds in spring and summer. And once in a while I can see a spider building a web right on my window!

When I get to school, I check in with the yard duty person, who walks around with a clipboard containing all our names. Minutes later we get the command to line up. My so-called friend, Greg, is usually right behind me, asking me if he can borrow my homework so he can copy it. He is such a user.

Once I get to my first class, I lay all my books out on the desktop. I take my tablet of paper out of my backpack and dig out this widget that is a fancy pen, but looks more like a garden tool! We all get up to get our folders where we keep the agenda for the day. 

According to the agenda, we are going to begin history class with a reading from an original document. It looks as if it was written on a scroll, and the syntax is really difficult to figure out! It is also written in a script that is hard to read. Some kids don’t seem to be paying much attention today. Joanne, who sits next to me, has a hacking cough. Beth, who sits in back of her, is pulling threads out of her uniform blouse. Cathy, who sits in front of me, seems to be finishing her art project with some paper and paste.

After the first class, we have a break. I will go check my inbox to see if I have any papers to bring home. Then, my friends Joel and Jasper and I will link arms and march to our next class!

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Remember when a path usually involved some dirt or grass?

And a platform was something you could see and really stand on?

Decompressing would make you feel calmer?

A bookmark was made of heavy paper and could fall out of your book?

An attachment often involved feelings?

A Trojan Horse wasn’t something that crashed your computer?

A clipboard was sturdy and something you carried around?

A command could be heard? Often loudly?

Kids had to actually put some effort in copying your homework?

Users were people who took advantage of your generosity?

A desktop was a place to put your coffee and enjoy the mess of papers?

A tablet was something you wrote on — or swallowed with a glass of water?

A widget was something someone invented and made a lot of money from? Even if you didn’t know what the heck it was?

Folders were those impossibly messy things full of papers in your two-drawer file cabinet?

History was something you might not want to repeat — and not a list of websites you have visited?

A document could give you a paper cut?

A scroll could be unrolled and read?

Syntax was something you learned in English class?

A script had lines you memorized?

Hacking was done by someone with a cough — not Russia  or China or a 400-pound man sitting on a bed.

Threads were something you wore?

Paste was sticky? And some kids ate it?

An inbox was stuffed with papers you would throw away rather than messages you could simply delete.

Links were not things you pressed on to go somewhere else?

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Now on Amazon! These books can be used together. However, each one can easily stand by itself. Both books have the same table of contents. The new workbook contains exercises and tests along with explanations and examples. The workbook is not yet available as an e-book, and is right now just available on Amazon. It will be available for order everywhere in a week or two. Buy the book on Amazon. Buy the workbook on Amazon. (Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you!)